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wiki:reference:toolbox

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Toolbox

This page is a repository of the online and software tools that I use. It is by no means exhaustive or representative of the best offering in its given category. These are the tools I have foundto get the job done in the way I need it done.

Hardware

  • Zalman/IODD Virtual Optical Disc Drives - IODD makes them, but Zalman has the American distribution. You can read my write up on mine HERE

Software

    1. SpinRite - Yes, there are ways to kick a disk into gear with dd and afew other Unix commands, but sometimes you just need to set it and forget it and get a little feedback from the process.
    2. Never10 - makes the policy changes to forever prevent Windows 10 upgrade
  • NirSoft - This guy pretty much creates all the tools that should be built into Windows and Sysinternals has not addressed. I have use more than the list below, but theses are the ones I use most frequently.
  • Rufus Disk Utility - No nonsense USB drive formatting tool
  • WinDirStat - Probably the oldest tool in my shed and has come back into use trying to keep SSDs svelte.
  • Sysinternals - All the things that should be built into Windows, so Microsoft bought them.
  • YUMI Multiboot - I don't use it too much anymore, but have found it to be the best bet on stubborn machines where I need multiple tools still.
  • KeePass Password Safe - Open-source self-managed password vault. Can sync via FTP or just run from Dropbox.
  • Turnkey Linux - They have a plethora of turn-key solutions. Makes it so easy to just fire up a VM and see if it is gonna work for you.
  • Snip - Really nice screen-snipping software from Microsoft Garage. I really want them to replace Snipping Tool with this. Would make snipping stuff on whatever Win10 machine I find myself at completely painless.
  • SyncToy - File sync/backup tool made by Microsoft. Build you jobs and setup a scheduled task and forget it.
  • Directory Opus - Excellent Windows File Explorer replacement that is well worth the money.
  • Cherry Tree Notes - Winth Microsoft acting-a-fool with OneNote lately I have been searching for alternatives. Cherry Tree is a rather solid one if you have a good syncing solution.
  • Next Cloud - My Dropbox was getting rather full with wargame manuals and resources so I went looking for a self-hosted alternative rather than shell out for what is essentially cold storage with the odd 'need it right now' request. I am currently running the VM on my HTPC until FreeNAS gets VMs more stable. Working awesome so far! You can map to shares so I have Dropbox-like access to my entire FreeNAS share.
wiki/reference/toolbox.txt · Last modified: 2018/12/21 16:24 by matt